Here's a poem I wrote about the proposed (and still lurking) development plans on Rodborough Fields. It's vital to keep these things in present consciousness lest we let slip our guard! (note: you may notice in the poem that the Lion is Lion Court, the modern day developers, and the Lamb is referring to sheep and hence the old cloth trade that once had its racks of drying cloth stretched out on Rodborough Fields.)
THE LION AND THE LAMB (written during 2012/13 when a proposed development threatened to destroy Rodborough Fields, an old hay meadow, with medieval ridge and furrow preserved in its turf)
The Lion is coming to Stroud,
Rodborough Fields like a lamb plays without knowing the shadow coming;
coming to grab its blossom bright fleece,
where butterflies abound.
Down in the Stroud Valley,
the Lion's roar will be heard,
as JCB diggers get their claws in;
tearing to pieces its meadowy coat,
gouging out its buttery throat.
As Lamb bleats for its life,
the butterflies will rush away in a cloud,
filling the sky between Butterow and Spillmans.
Lion shall stamp and toss,
Lamb broken into the Frome brook below;
where kingfishers in fear will stay clear,
of the once peaceful stream.
As Lion roars,
flattening the fields,
the concrete will go down,
and walks through wild flowers will drown.
And no more will the Lamb play,
or you for that matter,
because the open fields of Rodborough
are closing behind the property developer's desk.
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